Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

G-d bless her.


Article


(CNN) -- Miep Gies, who ensured the diary of Anne Frank did not fall into the hands of Nazis after the teen's arrest, has died. She was 100.

Gies was among a team of Dutch citizens who hid the Frank family of four and four others in a secret annex in Amsterdam, Netherlands, during World War II, according to her official Web site, which announced her death Monday. She worked as a secretary for Anne Frank's father, Otto, in the front side of the same Prinsengracht building.

The family stayed in the secret room from July 1942 until August 4, 1944, when they were arrested by Gestapo and Dutch police after being betrayed by an informant. Two of Gies' team were arrested that day, but she and her friend, Bep Voskuijl, were left behind -- and found 14-year-old Anne's papers.

"And there Bep and I saw Anne's diary papers lying on the floor. I said, 'Pick them up!' Bep stood there staring, frozen. I said, 'Pick them up! Pick them up!' We were afraid, but we did out best to collect all the papers," Gies said in a 1998 interview with The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

"Then we went downstairs. And there we stood, Bep and I. I asked, 'What now, Bep?' She answered, 'You're the oldest. You hold on to them. So I did."

The girl had chronicled two years of the emotions and fears that gripped her during hiding, as well as candid thoughts on her family, her feelings for friend-in-hiding Peter van Pels, and dreams of being a professional writer. Mixed into the entries were the names of the Dutch helpers, who risked their lives to keep the family's secret.

"I didn't read Anne's diary papers. ... It's a good thing I didn't because if I had read them I would have had to burn them," she said in the 1998 interview. "Some of the information in them was dangerous."

The diary was sheltered in Gies' desk drawer and later turned over to Otto Frank when he returned after the war as the only surviving resident of the annex. Anne died at northern Germany's Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

Her father published her diary, titled "The Secret Annex," in 1947.

Despite the legendary hardship she endured during the German occupation, Gies never embraced the label of a hero.

"More than 20,000 Dutch people helped to hide Jews and others in need of hiding during those years. I willingly did what I could to help. My husband did as well. It was not enough," she says in the prologue of her memoirs, "Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family."

"There is nothing special about me. I have never wanted special attention. I was only willing to do what was asked of me and what seemed necessary at the time."

Gies' husband, Jan, whom she married in 1941, died in 1993. The couple had a son together.

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Such an amazing story- may she rest in peace.

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

what a story

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

I remember seeing a documentary on her years ago, and I was floored by her humility. God bless her

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

everytime i read that story, i feel so horrible. What a wonderful woman, may she rest in peace

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

I just went and visited the house, Annex and diary in Amsterdam this past summer. Its an incredible story and was an amazing experience.

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

God Bless her

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Message edited 1/11/2010 11:08:14 PM.

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

"There is nothing special about me. I have never wanted special attention. I was only willing to do what was asked of me and what seemed necessary at the time."


She was wrong, she did a lot of good for the world. May she rest in peace. I am sorry for the world's loss of this wonderful person.

Message edited 1/11/2010 11:13:56 PM.

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

What a wonderful lady. There is a special place in heaven for her

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

What a humble woman. I loved this quote so much I made it my FB status:

"Imagine young people would grow up with the feeling that you have to be a hero to do your human duty. I am afraid nobody would ever help other people, because who is a hero? I was not. I was just an ordinary housewife and secretary."

Message edited 1/11/2010 11:19:31 PM.

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

rip

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

I just saw this on the news. It really hit home how recent the holocaust was.

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

May she rest in peace-what a wonderful woman. She deserves a special place in heaven!

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Posted by munchkinfacemama

May she rest in peace-what a wonderful woman. She deserves a special place in heaven!

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

She was so brave.

She was one of thousands of heroes who helped hiding Jews, English, American,etc... from being discovered and took many risks at the risk of their own lives.

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

such a brave woman.

Re: Miep Gies, Anne Frank protector, dies at 100

God bless her.